Kessel Summers gave Orange it’s only wins of the weekend at the 3A State Wrestling Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Summers, a junior who qualified for the 3A State Championships for the second year in a row, finished 2-2 on the weekend at 126 pounds. After the tournament was delayed on Thursday because of snow, Summers pinned Havelock’s Nate Lucio in 5:52 in the opening round on Friday afternoon. It was the second time this season that Summers defeated Lucio. In the Havelock Duals on January 12, Summers defeated Lucio 14-5.
In the quarterfinals, Enka’s Corbin Dion scored a 20-5 technical fall on Summers. Dion, who ended the year 57-5, wound up with the state championship. In the semifinals, Dion rallied from an early 4-1 deficit to defeat Southern Guilford’s Stephen Cotton 10-7. In the final, Dion faced Marion’s Tommy Capul, who he defeated to win the Western Regional Championship last weekend. Dion earned a 6-2 decision.
In the consolation round, Summers pinned Northside-Jacksonville’s Josh Myers in 2:20. Central Cabarrus’ Noah Kiser eliminated Summers on a 9-6 decision.
Summers ended the year 42-14. He will start next season with 97 career victories. In 2019, Summers, competing at 113 pounds, went 39-14 with 17 pins.
In a year where Orange had many incredible streaks come to an end, this weekend brought about another. It was the first time since 1988 that the Panthers didn’t have a wrestler place in the state championship.
Last year, Levi Anderson reached the state championship match at 145 pounds, losing 3-0 in the final.
Orange returned only four starters from last year’s squad, leading to its run of 16 consecutive conference championship being broken by Chapel Hill. It was Chapel Hill’s first win over Orange since 1989, and they did it on the Panthers’ senior night on January 30.
Union Pines eliminated the Panthers in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Championships.
“We came up a little short of our goals this year,” said Orange coach Spenser Poteat. “I think we have to refocus back to our original thought process. Not focus on winning, but on our individual relationships with each other. A Strong bond between our coaches and wrestlers make success everywhere else easy. Its about influence…heart, love, kindness, and lots of hard work and sacrifice.”
Xavier Tinnen and Brendon Worsham reached the state championships for the first time. Worsham, a sophomore who reached the Mideast Regional Finals at 182 pounds, lost to Justin Beltran of St. Stephens in the opening round 12-2. In the consolation round, Milan Summers of Greensboro Dudley defeated Worsham 7-4. Worsham ended the year 31-17.
Parkwood’s Marcus Williams, the Midwest Regional Champion, pinned Tinnen at 1:29 of the opening round of the 195-pound championships. Andre Britt of St. Stephens pinned Tinnen in 1:40 of the consolation round.
Tinnen, a junior who finished third in December’s Jim King/Orange Invitational at 195 pounds, ended the year 22-12.
“Brendan and Xavier both fought hard and wrestle to the best of their ability this weekend,” Poteat said. “Kessel had been to States before and his goal fell a little short as well. I look forward to the off season and getting ready for the rising seniors of next year.”
Orange ended the year 24-4 overall, 6-1 in the Big 8 Conference.